“Does Having
Kids Make Parents Happy After All?”
By: Tanya Basu
from The Atlantic
Commentary by:
Sam Smathers 4th
It has been said that adults without
kids are happier than their child having counterparts. Various studies from
years past confirm this hypothesis as a valid statement, but a new study was
conducted to confirm this idea. This study showed that adults are becoming less
and less happy as they grow older, but having kids actually makes adults
happier and not sadder. The study conductor said it was probably because now
people get married because they want to not because society says that they have
to.
I think that it is impossible to
rank happiness. Because how are you supposed to know what real happiness feels
like if you have never felt it? Not everyone has the same definition for
happiness so this study in a way is pointless, because having kids is different
for everyone. There is no way to figure out what your kid will be like, and if
that will make you happy or not. I bet the parents who had kids that died or
ran away suffered a lot more than the adults that didn’t have kids. Therefore
having kids doesn’t always make people happy, it actually has the potential to
make people suffer more. Happiness is too subjective and evanescent to actually
calculate.
I agree that some adults become happier when they have a baby. My dance teacher just had a baby she loves her and I have never seen her any happier. Parents are happy to start their life again with a child.
ReplyDeleteI agree that you shouldn't try and judge someone's happiness by comparing it with your own, but I also think that people shouldn't use a child as a way to become happy. Children can only make you happy if you're ready for it, and maybe some of the people who had kids did the mature thing and decided they weren't.
ReplyDeleteI hate studies like this because people see the first couple of lines in the article introducing the study and already subconsciously decide how they are going to feel about it. God forbid they think "they're right, I would be happier without kids." And how does this sound to younger generations reading this? Not good!
ReplyDeleteRight on. My mom claims that having kids made her life happier and some of her friends are always complaining about their kids. Who knows? I agree on the fact that it is different for everyone. Things like this really shouldn't be tested, especially when there can be so many different outcomes.
ReplyDelete